Another beautiful cruise back to the marina that repaired the boat. We will leave the boat here while we go home for about two months. We will also be taking a trip in September to Spain and Portugal with our dear friends, Misty and Darrel and Ellen’s son, Nathan!
The boat ran great on the beautiful cruise up the Chester River to Chestertown. We absolutely loved Chestertown and are so glad we decided to visit the town. Chestertown was established in 1706 and is situated on the most traveled highway between the North and the South during the Revolutionary period. George Washington made eight known visits here between 1756 and 1793. The historic downtown area is a short walk from the marina and is filled with historic buildings, shops and restaurants. Beautiful homes surround the downtown area including many from the 1700’s.
We had some wonderful meals at Play it Again Sam, Modern Stone Age Kitchen and The Retriever Bar and, of course, ice cream at Sugar Doodles Sweet Shop.
We enjoyed doing the self-guided walking tour of historic Chestertown and loved looking at the houses from the 1700’s and reading about their history. Of particular interest was the White Swan Tavern, built in 1733 as a residence, enlarged to become a tavern in the 1793 until it became a general store in the 1850’s. It was restored in 1978 during which time an archeological excavation yielded some 70,00 objects from around the site. The Tavern reopened as a Bed & Breakfast in 1981 after being restored to its 1795 appearance. We decided to walk in and see if we could have a look around and were greeted by the lovely proprietress who welcomed us and gave us a brief tour of some of the rooms which were absolutely stunning! We could definitely spend some time here, given the opportunity!
Later, we took the loaner tricycles out for a ride on the old railroad trail. As much as we have ridden bikes on our tip, Ellen had to practice riding the tricycle before we ventured our of the marina parking lot!
We also walked over to the Washington College campus, founded in 1782. This was the first college chartered after American independence and the 10th oldest college in the United States. George Washington granted use of his name to the college and served on the Board of Visitors and Governors and received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1789 once he became President and retired from the board.
We were having a wonderful time cruising up the Chester River on our way to Chestertown when, all of a sudden, alarms started going off on the boat. Kevin went downstairs to check on things and found the entire cabin filled with black smoke! He quickly determined that there was no fire and assumed that it was exhaust smoke. We called for a tow and went to a marina on the other side of Rock Hall from where we had just stayed. It turns out the exhaust elbow had blown apart. The engine room was covered in soot as well as some things in the cabin. Luckily, there was an excellent mechanic at the marina who promptly ordered the new parts we needed and installed them. He even let us borrow his truck to go to the grocery store and have lunch as there is nothing in the vicinity of the marina.
We enjoyed our time in the cute little town of Rock Hall whose welcome sign says, “Nice people live here!” We just happened to be there at the tail end of their town-wide theme party, Pirates and Wenches Weekend, which must be the highlight of the year for the townspeople! Houses, dinghies, boats and golf carts were decorated, many people were in costume, there was a street festival and musicians. We even saw a real, live mermaid!
We took a couple of loaner bikes from the marina and had an awesome lunch at Blue Heron restaurant. While we have been on our trip, we like to get potato skins whenever we see them on a menu. Blue Heron had seafood potato skins with crab, shrimp and scallops and they were amazing!
We had a nice cruise back to Baltimore and were sad to say goodbye to Becca and Mona as they headed for the airport to fly back to Atlanta.
We enjoyed having dinner again with Lynnae and Jerry from Troublesome Phoenix and then joined Ronda and Bob from Hawkins Landing and Christi and Rick from Inked Mermaid and enjoyed a small concert at the marina.
We enjoyed doing a few things that we did not do on our last trip to Annapolis, another of our favorite stops on the Loop.
We had a nice lunch at Chick & Ruth’s Delly before visiting the Hammond-Harwood House, built in 1774, where a wonderful docent led us through the house and provided interesting information about the architecture, furnishings and the families who lived in the house up until 1924. She also very patiently answered our questions as we tried to understand it all! We finished the day off with a delicious dinner at Boatyard Bar & Grill.
We visited the William Pacca House and Garden the next day. William Pacca was one of Maryland’s four signers of the Declaration of Independence and the state’s third Governor.
It was pretty dicey on the Chesapeake for Becca and Mona’s first day at sea! We had about an hour and a half of 1-2 foot waves on our beam which is not desirable. We were all happy to dock at the marina in St. Michaels! Of course, our captain did an excellent job of getting us there safely. We were happy to return here as this was a one of many favorite stops last year.
St. Michaels dates back to the mid-1600’s when it served as a trading post for tobacco and fur trappings. The Christ Episcopal Church of St. Michaels Archangel parish was established here in 1672 and gave the town its name. The town earned the nickname “the town that fooled the British” when, during the War of 1812, the townspeople dimmed the lights in their houses and hung lanterns in the trees beyond the town causing the British to overshoot the town.
We passed several more lighthouses on our way to Baltimore. As we entered Baltimore harbor, we went under the Frances Scott Key Bridge, passed by the remains of Fort Carroll, a replica of the Lazaretto Point Lighthouse and Fort McHenry.
Fort Carroll was designed by Robert E. Lee and named for Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. Construction began in 1848 but was never completed and it was never used as a fort. In 1864, it was flooded by torrential rains and declared vulnerable and obsolete. It stored mines during the Spanish-American War but was abandoned in 1920.
Lazaretto Point Lighthouse was the first on the Chesapeake to receive electricity in 1914. It was torn down in 1926 but recreated in 1985 from the original blueprints in order to preserve Baltimore’s history.
Fort McHenry was the site of one of the most pivotal battles of the War of 1812. After the British burned the capitol in Washington, D.C., Baltimore became their next target in September of 1814 but the American forces far outnumbered the British fleet and saved the city from defeat. In the meantime, Frances Scott Key had gone to Baltimore to negotiate the release of his friend, Dr. William Barnes, who had been taken prisoner but the British. Key was able to locate the ship where Barnes was being held and negotiated his release but they were required to remain on the ship until the bombing was over. Once the bombing ceased, Key kept looking through a spyglass to see if the American flag or the British flag was flying over the fort when he finally saw the American flag and began writing the words to what would eventually become the “Star Spangled Banner”. The British had withdrawn after a 25-hour bombardment of the Fort McHenry. After the British defeat at the Battle of Baltimore, both countries signed the Treaty of Ghent, basically calling the war a draw.
Once we had docked at the marina, we met up with our friends, Ronda and Bob and met new friends, Christi and Rick on Inked Mermaid. We all went to a nearby park that was having a festival and concert. Ronda and Ellen got Fairy Hair!
We rented a car and drove to Gettysburg the next two days and then visited Fort McHenry with Lynnae and Jerry the following day. We are sure getting our fill of history! After our tour of Fort McHenry with Lynnae and Jerry, the four of us went to Captain James Seafood Palace for some Maryland crabs!
The three day Battle of Gettysburg, in July of 1863, was the pivotal battle of the Civil War as well as the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. Being there and seeing where the battle took place had a profound impact on us. We enjoyed seeing all the pre-civil war buildings, particularly since there are none left in Atlanta! We took a bus tour of the battlefield the first day and drove our rental car through it the next day.
We visited the Shriver House in Gettysburg which gave us a glimpse of civilian life in Gettysburg during the Civil War. The house was built in 1860 and the Shrivers moved in to the house four months before the Civil War broke out. George Shriver had been off fighting for two years by the time troops made their way to Gettysburg. Once his wife, Hettie, heard the nearby canons, she decided she and their two daughters would be safer at her parent’s farm three miles down the road. Little did she know, that was the location where some of the worst fighting took place. They stayed at the farm for a couple of days and helped tend to the wounded soldiers. While they were gone, Confederate sharp shooters occupied their home and shot at Union soldiers from the attic. It is hard to imagine the sites that Hettie and her daughters witnessed and walked through the town as they headed back home after the battle and then returned to a house in shambles and this is just one of many stories of the civilians impacted by the battle.
We also visited the Eisenhower National Historic Site which was adjacent to the battlefield and the farm of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower and the only home they ever owned. The house is furnished as it was in 1967 with 98% original furnishings. It is difficult to describe the vast beauty surrounding the property in addition to it being in the midst of the battlefield.
Next, we visited the Wills House, built in 1814 and the home of the David Willis family in 1863. Willis is the “father of the Soldier’s National Cemetary”, a burial ground for the Union dead. Abraham Lincoln was a guest of David Wills on the eve of the dedication ceremony on November 19, 1863 where Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address and it is believed that Lincoln completed and rehearsed the speech while staying in the house.
To top off our week in Baltimore, Kevin’s daughter, Becca, and her partner, Mona, arrived from Atlanta on Monday. They will be with us for six days and we will travel to St. Michaels and Annapolis before bringing them back to Baltimore to fly home. Since they were anxious to have some Maryland crab, we just had to take them to Captain James Seafood Palace!
We passed by several lighthouse on our way from Crisfield to Deale. Deale was just an overnight stay for us but we had a great dinner a Happy Harbor restaurant.
We chose to keep the boat in Crisfield and travel by ferry to visit Smith Island and Tangier Island.
Smith Island was settled by the British in the 1600’s. It is a three-by-five mile island chain consisting of three villages and has a population of about 200 people, most of whom make their living by crabbing or oystering. It is the only inhabited island in Maryland that is accessible only by boat. Unfortunately, the island is shrinking due to rising seas eroding the island and it is projected to be completely submerged by 2100.
Smith Island is known for their famous Smith Island Cakes which the women have been making since the 1800’s. Ellen read about the cakes years ago and has made several of them so she was anxious to see where it all began. The Smith Island Cake is usually 8-10 thin layers separated by coatings of frosting. There are several flavors with yellow cake with chocolate icing being the most popular. Kevin had a slice of Red Velvet Cake which Ellen plans to make next Christmas!
We had a wonderful lunch at the Bayside Inn restaurant, visited the wonderful museum and then rented a golf cart to tour the small village of Ewell. Being on Smith Island was like taking a step back in time!
Tangier Island was first visited in 1608 by Captain John Smith who gave it its name and it was later settled in 1686. The beach on the south end of the island was the base of operations for the British fleet during the War of 1812. It was from there that the British burned Washington, D.C. and unsuccessfully attacked Fort McHenry in Baltimore during which our national anthem was written. The British erected Fort Albion which housed hundreds of African Americans who had gained freedom by escaping to the British. The site of the fort is now underwater.
Tangier Island has about twice as many residents as Smith Island and fishing, crabbing and oystering are the main source of income for the residents. It is known as the “soft crab capital’ of the nation. The island covers about 1.5 square miles and, like Smith Island, is shrinking. There are almost no cars on the island. Some of the residents leave their car in Crisfield and take the ferry over there to get supplies.
As the ferry boat was nearing the island we saw many huts that the fishermen use to store and clean their catches. Once we disembarked from the ferry, there were ladies on golf carts offering tours of the island. We took a tour from a lady that has lived on Tangier Island her whole life and then enjoyed walking around the island on our own. It was a joy to see this island and how the people live on it while, at the same time, it was sad to realize that it will not always be here and that many families who have lived on the island for generations will be forced to move once it becomes no longer inhabitable.
Back in Crisfield, we rented a golf cart from the marina to go to the grocery store. While we were shopping, a huge storm appeared out of nowhere. The manager of the grocery store was kind enough to take Ellen and our groceries back to the marina while Kevin took the golf cart back.
We rented a car and visited the three points of America’s Historic Triangle, Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. The Colonial Parkway, which connects the three cities, is an absolutely beautiful drive!
Williamsburg was the capitol of the Virginia Colony from 1699 to 1780. Colonial Williamsburg is an outdoor living history museum and contains 89 original 18th-century buildings and many more reconstructed buildings with costumed interpreters throughout. We had a creative tour of the Peyton Randolph house in that it was told from the viewpoint of some of the 27 enslaved people who lived and worked at the house rather than the viewpoint of the prestigious owner. In the courthouse, we participated in a mock trial trial in courthouse which was a lot of fun. Kevin’s character was suing Ellen’s character but, of course, he did not win! We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Kings Arm Tavern and were serenaded by a singing musician.
Jamestown was the first lasting English settlement in America. Three ships carrying 104 Englishmen arrived here in 1607. Twelve years later, the first enslaved Africans arrived here after being captured from a Portuguese warship. We visited the site of the 1607 James Fort (which was just located in 1944) and Memorial Church, which is adjacent to the fort site. The only 17-century structure still on the island is the church tower from the 1680’s. We also visited a re-created James Fort which had costumed interpreters showing what life was like for the colonists.
Yorktown was established in 1691. The 50-acre town was originally divided into 85 lots and lot prices were 180 pounds of tobacco. The town prospered until about 1750 and then faced destruction with the Siege of 1781, the Great Fire of 1814 and the Civil War. We enjoyed walking the streets of the quaint town and seeing some of the remaining 18th century homes. The last great battle of the American Revolution took place at Yorktown. In 1781, General George Washington’s troops, aided by French allies, defeated British troops and assured American independence. We drove through the battlefield while listening to the audio tour. We also visited the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. In addition to walking through several galleries of artifacts, we watched “The Siege of Yorktown” on a 180-degree surround screen which included special effects which made us feel like we were experiencing the battle firsthand. There is a also a Continental Army encampment and a Revolution-era farm on the grounds of the museum.
Leicester Longwool Sheep
We had one small lock to go through after leaving Coinjock. It was quite a change from the massive locks on the rivers! We made it to Norfolk where we will leave the boat while we go home to Atlanta for about 3 weeks.
We had some delicious She Crab Soup at Freemason Abbey Restaurant and had a front row seat from our boat to watch the 4th of July fireworks before heading home on the 5th. When we return to the boat, we will cruise the Chesapeake Bay and visit some of the places we did not visit last year.
Since we cruised the beautiful Dismal Swamp last year, we decided to take a different route to Norfolk this year stopping at Coinjock on the way. Coinjock Marina is famous for their 32 oz. Prime Rib so we had to give it a try and it was delicious!
It was a long day of cruising on the Pamlico Sound with no land in site for much of the day. Once we neared Manteo, the scenery was breathtaking with small islands scattered about the sound.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Manteo and also rented a car from the Ford dealership in order to visit the rest of the Outer Banks. We drove along the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway through the towns of Corolla, Currictuck, Duck, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head and Hatteras. We visited three more lighthouses and the Wright Brothers National Memorial Park. We were able to see and do everything we wanted to do and much more. The only thing we did not do that we would have liked to have done if we had known about it sooner was take an ATV tour on the beach to see the Corolla wild horses, descendants of the colonial Spanish Mustangs brought here by explorers nearly 500 years ago. The area where the horses roam is only accessible by four wheel drive so we were not able to take our rental car and it was too late in the day to get tickets for an ATV tour by the time we reached the area. But, suffice it to say, we had plenty of other adventures both in Manteo and the rest of the Outer Banks!
The charming town of Manteo is located on the eight mile by two mile Roanoke Island. Roanoke Island is believed to be the site of the disappearance of The Lost Colony, one of the greatest mysteries in American history. John White had come over with the colonists and by the time he returned to England to get supplies to take back to the colonists, England was preoccupied with the looming war with Spain. While Sir Walter Raleigh wanted to help the colonists, Queen Elizabeth I had ordered all ships remain in England to defend against the Spanish Armada so White was not able to return to the colonists for nearly three years. When he finally returned, all of the 116 colonists including his family, had mysteriously disappeared. Included among his family was his newly born granddaughter, Virginia Dare, believed to be the first English settler born in America. There are several theories as to what happened to these settlers but none are conclusive. John White and many modern historians believe that the colonists had moved south to Hatteras Island where the friendly Croatan Native Americans lived.
The English settlement of The Lost Colony in 1585 was 22 years before the first permanent English settlement in Jamestown in 1607, and 35 years before the second permanent English settlement in Plymouth in 1620.
The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama is the longest running (86 years) outdoor symphonic drama in the country and tells the story of England’s first attempt to colonize the New World in 1585 by Sir Walter Raleigh. Over 4 million people, including President Roosevelt, have seen the show. It was fabulous!! The sets, costumes, singing, acting and actors were top notch and it was so intriguing to be watching it under the stars right on the banks of Roanoke Sound. We felt like we got to know the brave colonists and the Indians as well as Queen Elizabeth I and her court. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos during the show but wonderful photos are available online. The show won a Tony in 2013.
The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama was the start of Andy Griffith’s acting career. After graduating from High School, he performed in the play from 1947 to 1953 and eventually landed the role of Sir Walter Raleigh. He liked the area so much that he decided to move to Manteo full time and lived here until his death in 2012.
Roanoke Island Festival Park is a 27-acre park that exhibits what life was like for the first English settlers in 1585. It includes a Settlement Site with costumed interpreters, a replica of Elizabeth I, the ship that brought the colonists to the area, an American Indian town and a museum.
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is believed to be the actual site where the first colonists settled. We learned more about The Lost Colony here as well as their relations with the Native American tribes. In the museum, we saw artifacts that had been discovered on the site and watched a very good video about The Lost Colony and the archeological efforts to unearth their history. The area also became the Freedman’s Colony 300 years later beginning in 1863. Over 2,000 freed African Americans from all across the south lived and worked in the area for several years.
The Wright Brothers National Memorial Park was fascinating! We learned that the first flight was not actually in Kitty Hawk but four miles south in Kill Devil Hills. The reason that Kitty Hawk is sighted as being the location of the first flight is that Orville Wright sent a telegram home to their father from Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903 announcing the first successful flight. The Wright Brothers made over 1,000 gliders and tested for four years before making the first successful flight. In the museum, we picked up several phrases that the Wright Brothers exhibited as they attempted to make the impossible possible by taking their dream to reality. These phrases should be an inspiration to us all in our daily lives: think outside the box, overcome challenges, keep learning, anticipate setbacks, details matter, do it yourself, don’t give up, sharpen your skills, believe, keep going, be curious, observe, ask questions.
The Outer Banks is often referred to as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”. There are more than 2,000 shipwrecks in the area but still less that the nearly 5,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, the “Shipwreck Capitol of the World”.
Bodie Island Lighthouse was built in 1872 and manned by keepers until 1932 when it was electrified. This is the third lighthouse built in this area. The first one was built in 1847 but, due to poor design, was abandoned in 1859. The second one was built in 1859 but was blown up in 1861 by Confederates who feared the Union would use the tower during the Civil War. We climbed the 219 steps to the top which is equivalent to climbing a ten story building!
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the second tallest lighthouse in the world. There are 257 step which we would have climbed had they not been closed for restoration.
Currituck Beach Lighthouse was built in 1875 and is made with one million bricks. It was the last major lighthouse to be illuminated on the Outer Banks. We climbed the 220 steps to the top, another 10 story building! This was our favorite lighthouse of the five lighthouses that we visited in the Outer Banks.
It was a beautiful day for our cruise out to the Outer Banks, right up until about 15 minutes before we were to dock at the marina but, besides Ellen getting soaked, we docked fine.
Ocracoke Island is 16 miles long, one to three miles wide and only accessible by private plane or boat. Ocracoke Village is only 4 square miles and home to about 800 residents. The rest of the island is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore which was the first national seashore in the country and boasts to be one of the best beaches in the country. The seashore stretches more than 70 miles a long three islands: Bodie Island, Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It was so beautiful and peaceful! Famed pirate Blackbeard said Ocracoke was his favorite anchorage and he lived the last five months of his life there but is not buried there as his body was thrown into Pamlico Sound after he was beheaded in 1718.
We rented a golf cart to tour the village one day and rented bikes to visit the seashore the next as we were not allowed to take the golf cart as far as the seashore. During our golf cart ride, we visited the Ocracoke Lighthouse and the Ocracoke Museum. The Ocracoke Lighthouse was built in 1823 and is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina and one of the second oldest lighthouse still in operation in the country. The Keeper’s Quarters adjacent to the lighthouse is now a privately owned home.
The Ocracoke Museum is housed in the David Williams House which was built around 1900.
We ate at several great restaurants including Howard’s Pub, Plum Pointe Kitchen and Ocracoke Oyster Company.
We stayed in Oriental last year but chose to stay at a different marina this time. The area surrounding Whittaker Pointe was so beautiful and very peaceful. The dock master was very accommodating and used to live in Atlanta! We took the loaner car into town for dinner at Toucan Grill & Fresh Bar.
While Beaufort, NC was a favorite stop last year, we decided to stay at nearby Morehead City this year to see a town we had not visited. Well, it was vastly different from charming Beaufort! Morehead City is a fishing town and although a lot of fishing towns are quaint and provide charming character, we did not get that vibe in Morehead City. Given the choice again, we would revisit Beaufort, NC.
There was an interesting event that happened in Morehead City just before we arrived. The Big Rock Blue Marlin Fishing Tournament had just been held. One of the boats caught the biggest blue marlin and the first one weighing over 500 pounds at 619.4 pounds. The prize for this catch would have been $3.5 million dollars ($2.7 million for winning the tournament and a $739,500 bonus for the first boat to catch a marlin over 500 pounds) but the catch was disqualified because it had been bitten by a shark near the marlin’s tail. Apparently, it was a superficial bite and there was quite a hoopla over the disqualification. The $2.7 million in prize money went to another boat who had caught a 484.5 pound blue marlin.
We cruised on the outside (in the ocean) most of our trip today. Mile Hammock Bay was a lovely anchorage. Kevin grilled our favorite sausage from Schmidt’s in Ohio. Ronda and Bob from Hawkins Landing were also anchored here so we were able to exchange photos of our boats at anchor. It was a wonderfully peaceful evening!
Southport was another favorite stop from last year. This year’s stop was made special by a visit from Ellen’s sister-in-law, Diane, and her husband, Don who live in nearby Wilmington. We cooked a Shrimp Boil on the boat and ate on the flybridge and had Strawberry Parfaits for dessert. It was so nice to spend time with them!
We also ate (twice!) at our favorite restaurant in Southport, Provision Company, and visited on Kay and Robert Creech’s front porch two nights. Ronda and Bob from Hawkins Landing were also at the marina and joined us on the porch. We also took an entertaining golf cart tour of Southport with Ronda and Bob. Several movies have been filmed in this quaint town and the historic homes are beautiful!
This was another new stop for us but one we would not choose to stop at again unless we needed to. The marina is across the ICW from Barefoot Landing which is a large complex of shops and restaurants geared toward “the tourists”! We did walk over the bridge to eat and look at the shops but there was nothing noteworthy about it, in our opinion. We did see Lynnae and Jerry pass by on their way to another marina.
This was another overnight stop for us. Lynnae and Jerry on Troublesome Phoenix were also at the marina and we enjoyed talking with them at the marina restaurant. They have traveled to the same places we will go in Spain and Portugal on our trip in September so we enjoyed hearing about their trip.
Georgetown, the oldest city in South Carolina, was a favorite stop last year and did not disappoint this year. This is where our favorite bakery, Indigo, is located. The bakery is owned by a charming couple from California who met online and later married and fulfilled her lifelong dream of owning her own bakery. Their pastries are amazing! They also hope to do the Loop one day!
One thing that we were not able to do last year was visit the Kaminski House which was built in 1769 by Paul Trapier and later purchased by the Kaminski family in 1931. Harold Kaminski was the son of Heiman Kaminski, one of Georgetown’s most affluent merchants in the late 1800’s. Harold also served as mayor of Georgetown. His wife, Julia, willed the home and its furnishings to the city upon her death in honor of her husband.
We met three Looper couples at the marina which is a rarity these days as most Loopers are much further north by now. Ronda and Bob are on Hawkins Landing and Lynnae and Jerry are on Troublesome Phoenix. We would go on to see them a few more times up until Baltimore. We also briefly met Mary and John on Walrus.
Since we spent so much time in Charleston last year, this was just an overnight stop for us this year. We met two lovely couples (non-Loopers) at the marina and enjoyed talking with them. One couple was from Tampa and had sold their home and become “liveaboards” and were traveling but not doing the Loop. The other couple was from Australia and had sailed on their Catamaran from England!
We enjoyed visiting Beaufort, SC last year and were happy to return again this year. The highlight of our visit this year was visiting with our friend, Beth Hawks, who used to do Public Relations work for Blueprint RF and has since moved to Beaufort. She gave us wonderful tour of the beautiful homes around Beaufort and then treated us to a delicious dinner. We so enjoyed our time with her!
We also celebrated Kevin’s birthday while in Beaufort!
We had not stopped in Savannah on our first time around and decided to stay just outside Savannah at Isle of Hope this time. We were excited to see that our friends, Caroline and Todd, from Sunset Dreams were docked there although we were only able to have a brief conversation with them as their daughter was graduating from SCAD that weekend and then they were heading back to St. Petersburg. Besides Darci and Steve, who started our incredible journey with us, Caroline and Todd are the Loopers we have known the longest as we first met them in January, 2022 in Key West and ran into them many times along the Loop.
We visited the tabby ruins of Wormsloe Plantation, the colonial estate of Noble Jones (1702-1775). We first learned about Nobel Jones during our visit to Fort Frederica in St. Simons, GA. He arrived in GA in 1733 with James Oglethorpe and established the colony at Fort Frederica among many other accomplishments. We thoroughly enjoyed walking around the beautiful nature trails and visiting before reaching Colonial Life Area.
The marina had two loaner cars so we were able to drive to Savannah where we visited River Street and enjoyed tasty beignets from Huey’s and rode the Hop On Hop Off Trolly around the city. We enjoyed seeing the Mercer-Williams house made famous in the novel “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. Once we left Savannah and began cruising to Beaufort, SC, we listed to the audible version of the book since Kevin had not read the book and we had seen so many of the places mentioned in the book.
It was nice to be back on the boat after an extended time home celebrating birthdays and Ellen’s niece’s wedding. Sunbury Crab Company was a new stop for us and we enjoyed the beautiful, peaceful setting and the wonderful restaurant.
We passed by Fort Clinch and the Cumberland Island Lighthouse on our way to Brunswick from Fernandina.
We will keep the boat in Brunswick until at least June 1 while we decide what are plans are going forward.
We visited Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island as well as the St. Simons Lighthouse and Keepers House.
The Fort Frederica National Monument contains the ruins of the fort and a British settlement built in 1736. The settlement was built by the early settlers of the Colony of Georgia under General Oglethorpe. All that remains of the settlement are the foundations of many of the homes but it was very interesting to see how the colony was laid out and read about the people who lived there.
The St. Simons Lighthouse was completed in 1872 replacing an earlier light station, built in 1807, that was destroyed during the Civil War. The Keepers Home, also built in 1872, was used until the 1950’s when the light was automated. The light continues to be an Active Aid to Navigation maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Fernandina was another favorite stop on our first time through Florida. Once again, we enjoyed walking around the quaint downtown area. We also walked a couple of miles to the Amelia Island Lighthouse. We knew that the lighthouse was only open for tours for three hours on Saturdays (this was on a Sunday) but thought we’d be able to walk around the property. We were, however, only able to get a glimpse of it as there was a locked gate to the entrance. One of the things we were not able to do on our first trip was visit Fort Clinch State Park so we rented a golf cart in order to visit the park this time and also did our own driving tour of the historical houses in Fernandina and rode around Amelia Island. Some of the many houses we saw are shown below.
Fort Clinch was amazing! The first fortifications on the site began in 1736 but construction as we see it today began in 1847. Although it was never fully completed or used in direct combat, it served as a military post during the Civil War, the Spanish American War and World War II. It became one of Florida’s first state parks in 1935 but was used again during World War II and then given back to the state.
Blue Spring State Park is home to hundreds of manatee in the winter months, typically from mid-November until mid-March, who are escaping the cold waters and enjoying the 73-degree spring. We had hoped to make it to the beautiful clear waters of the spring to see the manatee but learned we had missed the last of them by a week or so and the manatee count was “0” the day we visited the spring. According to the park, a record 729 manatees were counted this year! We did spot several manatee heading south as we were making our way north to the St. Johns River but it would have been fun to see the mass numbers in the spring. Even though there were no manatee when we visited, the park was still breathtakingly beautiful!
Ravine Gardens State Park, in Palatka, FL, has two ravines up to 120 feet deep with steep banks at 45-degree angles. We just missed the peak azalea season but we chose to hike the Azalea Trail which winds through the ravine system of the park and experience more of the natural beauty of the gardens. It was challenging at times but very much worth the effort!
Cumberland Island National Seashore is the largest and southernmost barrier island off the coast of Georgia and is only accessible by boat or small plane. While we could have anchored nearby and taken our dingy to the island, we decided to take the ferry from St. Mary’s since we still had a rental car. We spent two days on Cumberland Island. The first day, we took a 5 hour guided Land & Legacy Tour which was fantastic and we went back the next day to explore more of the island on our own and visit the beach. We especially enjoyed walking through the maritime forest. During the tour, we had a picnic lunch on the grounds of the beautiful Plum Orchard Mansion. There are about 150 feral horses roaming about the island.
The Settlement is the name of the northern end of the island that was settled by former slaves in the early 1890’s. Primus Mitchell was born into slavery on the island and he and his wife lived on Robert Stafford’s plantation, the largest plantation on the island prior to the Civil War, until they were freed by Union forces in 1862. The First African Baptist Church was established by Primus Mitchell in 1893 and was originally housed in a log cabin and also used as a courthouse and a school. Mitchell’s granddaughter, Beulah Alberty, built a new church in 1937 which is the church where John F. Kennedy and Carolyn Bessette married in 1996. Beulah was the last resident of the Settlement and came to be known as the Settlement Mayor.
Plum Orchard is one of four mansions on the island built for the children of Thomas and Lucy Carnegie. Construction of the Plum Orchard mansion began in 1898 as a wedding gift for George Lauder Carnegie and Margaret Thaw. Several additions were made over the next twenty years when the home totaled 22,000 square feet. The mansion was the couple’s winter home until 1921 when George Carnegie passed away. Many of the home’s original furnishings were eventually auctioned off and most of what remains in the house is from Dungeness prior to the fire that destroyed it in 1959.
The Tabby House is the oldest standing structure on the island and dates back to around 1800. The house was built by Nathaniel Greene’s widow and her second husband, Phones Miller, possibly as temporary housing while the first Dungeness mansion was being built.
The second Dungeness mansion was built in the mid-1880’s by Thomas and Lucy Carnegie. It stood on the same location as the previous Dungeness mansion which burned in 1866. The Carnegie mansion had 37,000 square feet and was estimated to have cost $200,000 to build. After being abandoned in 1924, it burned in 1959.
